Protecting Yourself from Sarcopenia as You Age

Sarcopenia is a medical condition mainly associated with aging. It is characterized by loss of skeletal muscle strength and muscle mass, which in turn affects someone’s gait, strength, and physical activity. Mostly, it changes the patient’s ability to perform everyday tasks like walking, going up the stairs, lifting weights and other objects, and gets worse as you age. Hormonal changes that come with age, especially reduced protein production is a huge contributing factor to the condition. There are several preventative measures against Sarcopenia, these include;

Exercise

When muscles are not used, they tend to shrink leading to loss of strength altogether. Strength and resistance training are very effective routines in maintaining muscle strength, toning, and increasing muscle size.

A good workout schedule can be vital in strengthening bones and tendons which are all good for your health. You can also try out strength exercises to increase the resilience of your muscles such as Pilates, aerobics, and lifting weights.

Perfect Nutrition Diet

Make sure your eating habits are in line with a healthy, nutritious diet that takes into account foods rich in protein and healthy calories. An unhealthy diet will only result in weight loss and thus diminished muscle mass.

Proper nutrition is needed to treat the condition, delay its onset, or even entirely prevent it. Avoid foods that contain significant amounts of sodium, cholesterol, and fats. Instead, eat lean meats and seafood such as trout and salmon, which are good sources of protein and clean fat.

Avoid Stress

Sarcopenia is quite common in individuals that suffer from other medical conditions that put severe stress on the body. For instance, issues like heart disease and chronic liver disease have a higher chance of worsening the condition.

Treatments for cancer and kidney disease place a lot of stress on the body, which leads to the loss of energy and the individuals. That is why cancer patients are highly susceptible to getting sarcopenia. In addition, when the condition gets severe, it is best not to inflict more stress to your muscles. Believe it or not, a stairlift can make a huge difference in living with sarcopenia.

Inflammation

The inflammation caused by injuries and illnesses sends signals to the body to work on tearing them down and rebuilding damaged cells and tissue. Avoid injuries to the body, and protect yourself from long term conditions that are preventable like heart disease and tuberculosis which can cause the muscles in your body to lose energy and decreased muscle mass.

Hormone Balance

Hormonal factors mainly affect muscle mass as one grows older, where hormones become imbalanced and cause the body to react differently. These imbalances occur in both men and women where it can decrease estrogen and testosterone and cause muscle loss in both genders.

As you age, it is essential to have check-ups with your physician to see options for supplements to increase hormone production, and in places where you feel like hormone replacement therapy. These treatments go a long way in preventing sarcopenia since hormonal imbalance directly affects the rates of getting it.

Watch Alcohol Intake

Drinking too much alcohol severely affects the skeletal muscle, which leads to its waste and damage. It also weakens the muscles greatly, and adults over forty years are advised to mind their alcohol intake. If one already has sarcopenia, they are highly recommended to avoid taking alcohol to prevent further weakening of the muscle.

Sarcopenia is a severe condition that can impair one’s performance of daily activities like walking, but preventive measures are possible, including exercise. However, if the symptoms persist, you can contact Companion Stairlifts to help you manoeuvre up and down your stairs with the perfect stairlift of your choice.